Urgent reply needed. My 4yr neutered male Maine Coon has an enlarged heart and has been under treatment for the past year. Two days ago he developed a bloodclot near the back of his spine near the split to the large blood vessels that travel down his hind legs. He is unable to walk and is currently taking Lasix. Is there another treatment available or additonal things we should be doing. Per the vet he is to eat 5 oz of soft food a day via syringe with water as much as possible. Other than that we have been told to "hope for the best". Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. He is a wonderful cat, our first Maine Coon and we are fighting to keep him.

-- Anonymous, July 08, 1999

Answers

I HAVEN'T GOT AN ANSWER , I JUST WANTED TO SAY MY HEART GOES OUT TO YOU. I HAVEN'T HAD THIS EXPERIENCE BUT I HAVE HEARD A LITTLE ABOUT IT.I THINK CFA HAS AN ARTICLE ABOUT THIS ,CHECK THERE. GOOD LUCK.

-- Anonymous, July 09, 1999

I am afraid I don't have an answer but I am taking the liberty of forwarding your request for information to some of the cat fancier e-mail lists and will ask them to reply directly to you. I hope you get some useful information for this serious problem.

-- Anonymous, July 09, 1999

Sounds like a saddle thrombosis, i.e. blood travels from the heart down the great artery, the aorta, where it splits into the two femoral arteries that go to the back legs. Heart disease will probably cause blood pressure deviations and the turbulence where the aorta divides damages the wall of the blood vessel leading to a clot (thrombus) as the body tries to mount it's defenses (white blood cells and platelets). It is said to be very painful and very serious. I'm sorry I don't know the latest treatment but hope your vet is a good one and is treating the pain in addition to any treatment he is offering. You are bound to get some good info from the posting to the lists. I have two Maine Coons myself and know one of them has heart disease. I live in fear that this condition may strike them. I can only offer my heartfelt sympathy and will watch the posts for others to contribute and updates from you.

-- Anonymous, July 09, 1999

Magda, I'm so sorry that your boy is ill.

There is a web page at http://www.heartvet.com/fate.htm that discusses this kind of blood clot, which is also known as a saddle thrombus. It's not happy reading, but it's complete and concise and current, and I urge you please to read it because I think you will feel reassured that the supportive care you're giving your boy is the very best care you can provide for him.

You did not mention the exact heart problem your fellow has, but if it's hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), you may also find the HCM web site I coauthor and administer to be of some help. It reflects the most current knowledge on that particular disease and includes numerous references: http://members.aol.com/jchinitz/hcm/

If you cat does have HCM, may I gently suggest that at some point, if you haven't already done so, that you please let you cat's breeder know. HCM is a heritable disease. A responsible breeder will want to know so that owners of your boy's immediate relatives can be told, in case they want to have their cats checked for it . . . especially if any of those cats are in breeding programs.

My very best wishes that your boy recovers, and my heartfelt sympathies to you. I know how very special our MCs are, and how very wrenching it is to see them suffering with heart disease.

--Jody

-- Anonymous, July 09, 1999